Gotham Awards 2018: Here Are Some of the Freshest Movies of the Year

While the rest of the world watches the Oscars, movie geeks cuddle up in front of their screens for the Gotham Awards 2018.

For those who are unaware, the Gotham Independent Film Awards brings talented yet non-commercial film-makers under one roof, where they show off some of the most freshest films of the year. If you are tired of the same old formulaic stuff that Hollywood churns out like clockwork, then this is the event for you. In short, its a celebration of the best indie movies of the year.

While Warner Bros and Sony do a great job when it comes to producing flicks like Wonder Woman (2016) and Isn’t This Romantic (2018), how often do they come out with truly mind-bending stuff like Moonlight (2017) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? That’s why the Gotham Awards exist.

We all had our favorites for this year from the horror-themed Hereditary to more inclusive stuff like BlacKkKlansman, just to name some of my favorites.

That being said, let’s get down to this years’ winners at The Gotham Awards.

Best Actor and Actresses

For best actor and actress, if you watch indie flicks, then no surprises here. If not, then now’s your chance to know the best performers for this year.

• Best Actor: Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
• Best Actress: Toni Collette, Hereditary

Best Actor at the Gothams goes to Ethan Hawke for FIRST REFORMED. (Crowd goes wilder than they have all night, and it’s not just @hunteryharris) pic.twitter.com/j3EmuN3ES2

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) November 27, 2018

Best Screenplay, Feature and Audience Choice Awards

Moving on to awards that a director can take credit for, here are some pretty obvious winners.

• Best Screenplay: Paul Schrader, First Reformed
• Best Feature: The Rider
• IFP Gotham Audience Award: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Best Documentary and Breakthrough Director

The best thing about these awards is that they honor stalwarts and newbies alike. And this year’s awards surprised us on that front as well. Even a member of the jury agrees.

Let’s see who made the cut for best documentary and breakthrough director.

• Best Documentary: Hale County This Morning, This Evening
• Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award: Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade

Gothams: Ethan Hawke (First Reformed) and Toni Collette (Hereditary) won Best Actor/Actress! (I was on that nominating jury.) Also: Best Film was–a surprise–The Rider. Eighth Grade took Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actress. Screenplay: First Reformed. And we're off.

— Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) November 27, 2018

Honorable Mentions

The costumes in The Favorite (2018) were so spot-on, especially if you look at Emma Stone’s collar, which was always ruffled like that of a wild child’s.

• Special Jury Award For Ensemble Performance: The Favorite Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz
• Breakthrough Actor: Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade

Unlike the Emmys, these indie awards just throw in all the love together. To be honest, I was hoping Sharp Objects would get this one. Here are some indie series that won kudos:

• Breakthrough Series – Long Form: Killing Eve
• Breakthrough Series – Short Form: 195 Lewis

So this is it for this year’s Gotham Awards. Do check out the reviews of some of the best films showcased this year. Who knows, maybe you might become a believer in the indie movie scene.